Tarkowski: Still Targets To Hit

James Tarkowski is eager to wrap up Premier League safety but insists the work doesn’t finish there.

The Clarets will be certain of staying in the top flight if they beat eighth-placed West Bromwich Albion at Turf Moor on Saturday.

That in itself would be a fantastic achievement for Sean Dyche’s squad as they look to succeed where two previous tilts at Premier League survival have come up short.

But Tarkowski is adamant there is still more to play for with three games to go before the end of the campaign.

“You deserve where you get to be in this league. Nobody gets anywhere by luck,” said the defender.

“We have earned every point so far but we still need to carry on with our job. We’re not guaranteed safety yet, so there are a few more points to pick up.

“That’s the main priority first, to keep your Premier League status, but after that we have more targets to go and push up the league, so that’s what we have to do after that.

“We are still very much focused on doing a job, putting in performances and picking up points to the end of the season.

“It’s really tight from 16th/17th to eighth or ninth. There’s only a few points in it, so for us it’s got to be an incentive to go and push up the league, rather than looking below us.”

Tarkowski helped take the Clarets to the brink with an impressive full Premier League debut at Crystal Palace last Saturday.

The centre-back was part of the collective effort that secured a 10th clean sheet of the campaign after replacing the injured Ben Mee for the 2-0 win.

And the former Oldham and Brentford man was delighted to take a chance that came his way in a line-up that also featured the returning Ashley Westwood and a big contribution from substitute Jon Flanagan.

Tarkowski added: “It’s a big part of the way we work here. Everyone is always ready.

“Last week a few people came in who had not played for a while and put in very good performances.

“It’s testament to the way we train and we reaped the rewards for that with the way we performed last week.

“It’s nice to get a game. Me and a few lads have probably sat and watched a bit more football than we would have liked to this season but that’s the way the game is sometimes.

“We've had two lads in great form, very fit until recently, so I've had to wait. It's not easy to do. When you come on and play well and you get three points then it’s worth waiting for.

“You’ve just got to sit and wait for your chance. But I really enjoyed last weekend and hopefully I’ll get another chance to show what I can do.

“You want to play but I try and prove a point on the pitch that I should be playing, rather than speaking about it.”